1 Peter 1: Living holy

Lieutenant Elliot Kervin uncovers how hope and holiness are revealed in Jesus.

Key texts

• 1 Peter 1:13–25

Imagine for a moment that you want to write to fellow followers of Jesus to encourage them in their discipleship. You are aware, however, that they are in the midst of intense hardships and cruel treatment because of their faith and beliefs. What would you write? What message would you want to share? As we look at 1 Peter, we begin to find out what Peter chose to write to people in such circumstances.

Peter opens his letter by praising God for all that he has done in – and through – Jesus. He encourages his readers to join in with his rejoicing, despite the trials they currently face. Rejoicing in God’s salvation is Peter’s opening exhortation (see 1 Peter 1:3). In our study passage, Peter goes on to encourage his readers in their response to that salvation.

Pause and reflect

• How would you encourage followers of Jesus who are facing persecution for their faith?

In reading our study passage, three particular words caught my attention – revealed, hope and holy.

The word ‘revealed’ appears in verses 13 and 20. Each time, it refers to Jesus, but to different aspects of his revealing.

Verse 13 casts an eye into the future ‘when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming’. This refers to the ultimate revealing of God’s love and grace for his people when Jesus returns.

In verse 20, Peter has Jesus’ earthly ministry in mind. The self-revelation of God in the person of Jesus was both something that had already happened and something that would happen again. This was not just some convenient development of the Jesus story – it had been the divine plan since before the creation of the world. God’s salvation and grace, revealed through Jesus’ ministry – especially his death and resurrection – come to fruition at the final revealing, when Christ returns. Peter encourages his readers to try to see life through this lens, helping them look beyond their current sufferings.

Pause and reflect

• How has God revealed himself to you over the past month?
• In what situation are you praying for God to reveal himself?

That God has chosen to reveal himself to humanity gives great reason to have hope. Peter encourages believers to fix their hope on God; a hope generated in God’s promises and in Jesus’ real-world acts of power, love, compassion and authority. At the beginning of verse 13, the exhortation ‘with minds that are alert and fully sober’ – or, as the King James Version puts it, ‘gird up the loins of your mind’ – suggests a person preparing themselves for hard work, rolling up their sleeves as we might say today.

Peter encourages such determination of mind and spirit, with hope in God being the force that drives them. This is not passive discipleship. Rather, it is active discipleship. Hope in this biblical context is not a faint belief but a certainty. As Edmund Clowney writes in his commentary The Message of 1 Peter, hope in God is ‘not so much an attitude to be cultivated as a reality to be recognised’.

Pause and reflect

• In what do you place your hope?
• To what extent are you an active or passive disciple of Jesus?

Peter calls us to live holy lives, because God, our source of hope, is holy. We could be forgiven for feeling daunted by the task of being holy as God is holy. Surely, that’s an impossible task! However, the command quoted from Leviticus 19:2 is not to be holy like God, but to be holy because God is holy.

God is holy, and Jesus is this holiness revealed. Therefore, Peter’s exhortation to be ‘holy in all you do’ (v15) should not be a case of reducing holy living to a series of right actions. Of course, our actions are important, but holy living begins in the mind, from which our actions flow. Living holy requires us to pattern and repattern our lives on the life of Jesus. This cannot leave our hearts untouched.

There is a complementary nature to practising holiness and the work of the Holy Spirit in transforming our hearts. The more we practise holiness through imitating Jesus, while at the same time allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts, the more our lives become patterned by Jesus.

When talking about holiness, who do we think about? Do we think only of ourselves, or do we also think of the fellowship of which we are a part? Beginning with oneself is a good starting point, but holy living is not purely an individual task.

Peter is writing to communities of believers, encouraging them to play their individual parts in the endeavour of being a holy people. He encourages his audience to have deep love for one another ‘from the heart’ (v22). Is this not a reflection of the heart of God for his people?

Communities and fellowships made up of people who love one another deeply can reveal God’s love to the world around them. Even in the trials and struggles, Peter calls people to double down in their efforts to live holy lives and be holy communities.

Pause and reflect

• How often do you pray for holiness in your life?
• Do you consider holiness to be purely individual, or is it also a corporate endeavour?
• How can we continue to commit to and grow in holiness as Salvation Army communities and fellowships?

God has revealed himself to his people – to us. This gives us a sure and certain hope for the future, when all things will be made right again. Therefore, our response is to live holy lives that reflect God’s goodness. In turn, our holiness becomes part of that continual revealing of God’s love for all his creation.